Tag: 1988

Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“The Harder I Try” is a single by British boyband Brother Beyond. It was released in 1988 and is considered their breakthrough single.

In 1988, top British producers Stock Aitken & Waterman auctioned off their services for the Young Variety Club of Great Britain charity. Label EMI won the auction, and British boyband Brother Beyond was selected by Pete Waterman to be produced by the trio. The group had met Waterman previously and the producer liked the band.

Brother Beyond was by then a struggling pop act, with their first four singles only making the lower reaches of the UK top 75 singles chart. EMI saw this as their much-needed breakthrough and agreed with Waterman on producing the group.

The resulting song, “The Harder I Try”, had a distinctive Motown-esque sound, and sampled the drum intro to The Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine”. When released in July 1988, it became an instant success, peaking at #2 in the UK for two weeks, becoming the band’s best-selling single. The song was kept off from the top spot by Yazz’s “The Only Way Is Up” in the first week and by Phil Collins’ “A Groovy Kind of Love” in the second week. The single topped the Irish charts and was mildly successful when released worldwide.

As a result, of the group’s success with the song, EMI asked the producers to write and produce another track for the band, resulting in the song “He Ain’t No Competition”, a song that again featured a Motown sound. It was released as the band’s next single and it became another big hit for the group, peaking at #6.

Brother Beyond’s album Get Even had by the time of the release of the single already been released in Japan. It was repackaged for its release in the rest of the world, including the two Stock Aitken & Waterman-produced tracks, and omitting two of the band’s self-penned songs from the original release. This version was released in November 1988, and the album was also a top 10 hit.

SIDE A:
The Harder I Try (Extended) 6:07
Engineer – Mark McGuire
Mixed By – Mixmaster Pete Hammond*
Producer, Written-By – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*

SIDE B:
Remember Me (Extended) 6:48
Engineer, Mixed By – Kenny Jones (3)
Producer, Mixed By –Brother Beyond

The Harder I Try (Instrumental) 3:45
Engineer – Mark McGuire
Mixed By – Mixmaster Pete Hammond*
Producer, Written-By – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone ‎– 060 20 2792 6, Parlophone ‎– 20 2792 6
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

NOTES:
Made in EEC
Printed in Holland

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

Menudo – You Got Potential (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“You Got Potential” is the first single taken from Latino boy band Menudo’s 26th album (and fifth in English) “Sons Of Rock”. The single featured lead vocals by new member Angelo García along with Ricky Martin, Raymond Acevedo, Sergio Blass, Rubén Gómez.

SIDE A:
You Got Potential (Party Mix) 6:34

SIDE B:
You Got Potential (Beach Mix) 6:23
You Got Potential (Instrumental) 3:46

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sutra Records ‎– SB 2001
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Alan Scott*, John Morales
Guitar – Chris Udell
Photography [Concept] – Rio Hernandez
Producer –John Morales, Sergio Munzibai
Written-By – Alan Roy Scott, Michael Jay

NOTES:
From the LP “SONS OF ROCK”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

Erasure/Yazoo/Dead Or Alive – Megatrax Megamixes (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

Megatrax was a DJ remix service record label set up by Beat Records a specialist Dance Music Record Store in Dublin founded in the 1980s. The label specialized in megamixes. This ultra-rare megamix features Erasure, Yazoo and Dead Or Alive.

SIDE A:
Erasure – Yazoo Megamix 12:04
Performed By – ErasureYazoo
Mixed By – Chris Lucas

-Situation
-Only You
-It Doesn’t Have To Be
-Sometimes
-Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
-Oh L’Amour
-Victim Of Love

SIDE B:
Dead Or Alive Megamix 9:41
Performed By – Dead Or Alive
Mixed By – Chris Lucas, Red Warren

-Lover Come Back To Me
-My Heart Goes Bang
-Brand New Lover
-Something In My House
-You Spin Me Round
-Something In My House (Naughty XXX Mix)

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Megatrax ‎– BEAT 8
Format: 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Unofficial Release
Country: UK
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

NOTES:
DJ Service Megamixes.
Made In E.E.E.C.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

Big Pig – Breakaway (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted April 3, 2013

“Breakaway” is a cover of American R&B singer Chuck Jackson’s song “I Can’t Break Away” by Australian band Big Pig. It was originally released in November 1987 in the United Kingdom. Outside the UK, it was released in February 1988 as the third single from their debut album Bonk. The song, written by Mitchell Bottler and Gary Zekley, is about freedom and fighting against destiny. Like many other Big Pig songs, “Breakaway” features plentiful drums and percussion, but no guitars.

The song became the band’s most successful single, reaching number one in New Zealand in May 1988. It also peaked at number eight in their native Australia and managed to chart in North America, reaching number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on Canada’s RPM Top Singles chart. Its earlier UK release saw the song peak at number 89 on the UK Singles Chart. In addition, the song was a club hit in the United States peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Dance chart.

In 1989, the song appeared on the soundtrack to the science-fiction comedy film Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

SIDE A:
Breakaway (Extended Version) 5:42
Mixed By – Roli Mosimann

Breakaway (Dub Mix) 5:11
Engineer [Mix] – David Avidor
Mixed By – Roli Mosimann

SIDE B:
Breakaway (12″ Popper Mix) 6:00
Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Nick Launay

Breakaway (New Edit) 3:48
Remix – Roli Mosimann

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1988 Breakaway U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #60
1988 Breakaway U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #7

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– SP-12259
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: Mar 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design, Photography [Front Cover] – Jeremy PearceJohn WarwickerOleh Witer
Photography [Group] – Mark Lebon
Written-By – Zekley*, Bottler*

NOTES:
Original version appears on the A&M album “Bonk” SP-6-5185.
Mastered at Masterdisk.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.